Friday, February 25, 2011

Hiatus Explained

It's been a couple weeks since the last post. While the no-bake cookies are delicious, I don't think they're good enough to hold the top spot on my blog for as long as they have. In any case, I've been meaning to post, but have been totally wrapped up in a class/project. It's a mix of nesting, mother-daughter bonding, and unexpected craftiness.

For my birthday (which I celebrated yesterday, hence the all the cake and frosting in the picture above), my mom signed us up for a beginner's quilting class. At first, I was interested -- I don't know if I would have signed up without my mom's suggestion, but figured it would at least be a fun thing to try. Four classes later, who knew I'd find so much satisfaction in piecing together squares of material in various patterns for a baby quilt? (Only 24 more days left until my due date, not that I'm counting or anything) There's something so old-fashioned and traditional about quilting that totally appeals to me. And like with most sewing projects, I have to concentrate since it doesn't come to me. So, really, it's a sort of brain workout, too. Plus, it's just fun. A couple times a week, I head up to my cute little hometown, set up all my sewing stuff in a 100-year-old house with my mom, along with our super-patient instructor and two other women, and we just chat as we sit and sew for a few hours. Maybe it sounds kind of grandma-ish, but I love it. Then there's the satisfaction of seeing the project actually come together - not only my own, but also my mom's. My late grandma, an incredible seamstress, would be so proud of Mom and me.

To think that just over a year ago, I was terrified by my sewing machine...

So that's the reason for the hiatus. When I'm not doing my regular, everyday activities (which seem to take much longer when you're waddling around the house), I'm trying to catch up with my quilting class 'homework'. I'll be sure to show you my finished project (keep your fingers crossed for me -- I'm going to machine quilt it tomorrow and I'm a little freaked out), along with some insights and ideas of how you can give this generations-old art a try. Then I'll be back to regularly posting my parsimonious ideas. Well, at least until the end of March.